DEANSTON HITTING NEW HIGHS

 THE DEANSTON TEQUILA FINISH 15-YEAR-OLD

There are many distilleries in Scotland which started life as mills, but none of them had quite the scale of Deanston. This huge plant was constructed on the banks of the fast-flowing River Teith in 1785 by inventor Richard Arkwright who used it as one of the sites for the development of the Spinning Jenny. It also had what was claimed to be the largest water wheel in Europe.

It was the collective efforts of James Finlay & Co, Brodie Hepburn & Co, and A.B (Sandy) Grant, known together as Deanston Distillers Ltd, who converted Deanston Mill into a malt whisky distillery in 1965. The soft, fast flow of the River Teith and a whisky boom in Scotland at the time made the site ideal for whisky production. The distillery was opened on 17 October 1966 after an extensive restoration costing £300,000, employing 20 local people, but taking just nine months. Three floors were removed to make room for four copper stills and a mash tun. The constant, cool temperature of the weaving shed made it ideal for whisky maturation. The only completely new building was the tun room – where eight huge fermentation vessels now stand. When full each of these weighs 60 tonnes and they stand on top of the mill's four tunnels leading from the turbine house back to the river. "All Systems Go" was decared three months later.

Deanston Distillery lies eight miles from the historic town of Stirling, at the gateway to the  Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. It is the largest distillery owned by Scotch whisky producer Distell Group Limited, who also own Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull (1993) and Bunnahabhain Distillery on the Isle of Islay (2003).

It can claim to be one of the greenest distilleries in Scotland. All of its power is generated by a turbine house which processes 20 million litres of water an hour. The excess electricity is then sold to the National Grid.

                      

The distillery was formally opened on 30 January 1967. Deanston started bottling in 1971 and the first single malt was named Old Bannockburn. Teith Mill, a blended whisky, was also produced at this time - a kiosk was set up at Blair Drummond Safari Park which sold Old Bannockburn and Teith Mill in take-away cartons. At this point, although it made business sense to sell Deanston as a single malt, it was mainly produced for blending purposes. In 1971, Invergordon Distillers (bought by Whyte & Mackay in 1990) bought Brodie Hepburn Ltd, with Tullibardine Distillery and a 30% share in Deanston Distillery. A year later, Invergordon purchased Deanston outright and the first single malt bearing the name Deanston was produced in 1974. After a downturn in the whisky industry, Deanston Distillery ceased production in 1982 for eight years, before being purchased by current owners Burn Stewart Distillers Limited in 1990 (now part of the Distell_ Group_Limited).

Deanston Distillery looks very unlike a traditional Scotch whisky distillery and has a number of unique production features which contribute to its distinct character in taste and look. The spirit is handmade by a small team of local craftsmen who rely on traditional distilling techniques; no technology or computers are used. Deanston uses hands-on methods and fermentation takes longer than the norm. This transforms the whisky into the waxy, soft, smooth single malt that they’re famous for.

Deanston uses only Scottish-grown barley and in 2000, was one of the first distilleries in Scotland to start producing organic whisky, certified by the Organic Food Federation and using barley grown in specially selected sites, free from pesticides and chemicals. Before hitting the stills, their crystal-clear wort is created in one of Scotland's only open-top mash tuns with an 11-ton capacity and four unique pot stills with upwards-sloping lyne arms and boiling balls, which help give the whisky its signature light character.

The pot stills are very neat to look at and stand in one line. They used to have a quite respectable size of 20,000 litres (wash still) and 17,000 litres (spirit still), which have since been changed to 17,500 and 15,500 litres respectively. The spirit is matured in the original weaving shed built in the 1830s, which has a capacity of 45,000 casks.

Although single malt bottlings started relatively early (1974), it is only recently that Deanston has been elevated to a front-line single malt brand. Deanston, a Highland single malt distillery produces whisky which is handmade by ten local craftsmen, un-chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at a strength of 46% ABV and higher. 

Most of the whisky distilled at Deanston finds its way into the numerous blends of Burn Stewart, these include but are not limited to:

• Scottish Leader
• Black Bottle
• Wallace Single Malt Liqueur
• Drumgray Highland Cream Liqueur

Only around 15% of annual whisky production is bottled as single malt. The Deanston 12 Years marks the classic entry into the brand. It is flanked by Deanston Virgin Oak – NAS, but completely matured in new barrels; the Deanston 18 year old, which matures completely in ex-bourbon barrels and is then finished in first fill bourbon casks. These are joined by a number of limited edition bottlings emphasising the impact of cask maturation. All Deanston whiskies are released without chill filtration or caramel colouring. The whiskies are bottled, as is generally the case with the Distell Group’s distilleries, at 46% ABV and higher.

Deanston Timeline:

1785: Deanston Mill is established on the River Teith

1964: Brodie Hepburn buys and converts the former cotton-mill creating Deanston Distillery Co. Ltd., subsidiary of James Finlay & Co. Ltd.

1966: Production starts in October 1966

1971: The first single malt is released under the name Old Bannockburn

1972: Sold to Invergordon Distillers (Holdings) Ltd.. Four stills, dark-grains plant

1974: The first single malt bearing the name Deanston is released

1982: Distillery closes while owned by Invergordon Distillers (Holdings) Ltd.

1990: Sold for £2.1 million to and reopened by Burn Stewart & Co. plc from Glasgow

1991: Production resumes

1999: C.L. Financial buys 18% of the stakes of Burn Stewart & Co. plc

2002: C.L. Financial buys the remainder of the stakes of Burn Stewart & Co. plc. 

2009: The 12 year old is relaunched

2012: A visitor centre is opened

2013: Burn Stewart & Co. is acquired by South Africa Distell for £160 million

Deanston - Limited Edition Tequila Cask 15-YO Whisky 70cl | 52.5%  

DISTILLERY	DEANSTON	£94.95
SERIES	Limited Edition
Year Bottled	2023
Age	15 year old
Alcohol ABV	52.5 %
Cask Strength	Yes
Cask Wood Type	Tequila
Single Cask	No
Packaging	Cardboard Tube
Bottler	Distillery
Country of Origin	Scotland
Stopper	Cork
Bottle Type	Standard
Bottle Size	70cl
Neck Level	Full Level

 Product Description

The first of Deanston's experimental, limited-edition releases. Deanston Tequila Cask Finish celebrates spirit with true highland character. This single malt, from the Scottish Highlands, is matured in traditional Oak hogsheads and finished in hand-selected casks that once held Agave Tequila from the Jaliscan Highlands,

Tasting Notes:

Nose: Fresh. Notes of ripe pineapple, crème Brûlée, mixed nuts and light oak.

Palate: Rich, yet dry on the palate. Bursting with flavours of caramelised agave, toasted almonds, baked apples with custard and warming spice.

Finish: Long finish with brown spice and sweet, citrus bursts.

                         THE CORE EDITION                                                                 THE LIMITED EDITION

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